The Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital, built at a cost of R553m to cater for the community of Vryburg, has been officially opened, four years after admitting its first patients.

Health MEC Magome Masike officially opened the hospital and unveiled a memorial stone in honour of the late freedom fighter, struggle icon and the man whose name, Kesimolotse Taolo Joseph Morolong, was given to the hospital.

The struggle veteran was involved in anti-apartheid and defiance campaigns of 1952 along with Ruth First, an anti-apartheid activist and scholar, killed by a parcel bomb in Mozambique in 1982.

The construction of the hospital was completed in 2009. It admitted its first patients in 2011.

The delay in the official opening was caused by a long-standing dispute regarding the construction of a stretch of road leading to the hospital.

Masike said that his department wanted to make sure that all roads leading to the hospital were tarred and of good condition, but that the squabbles and disagreements caused the delay.

“I wanted to make sure that our ambulances were not damaged by the poor road infrastructure we had before. Now we are happy because we have the best hospital for the people of Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District. We also have good road infrastrcure leading to this hospital. This allows us to render quality health services for our people which they deserve,” he said.

The new hospital replaces the old Vryburg Hospital built just before the onset of apartheid in 1948.

The new hospital has 120 beds and a range of services that include in-patient and out-patient and accident and emergency units. It has a digital radiography and other related top-class facilities.

It also has a rehabilitation unit, theatre and six-bed high-care unit, on-site laboratory and blood blank and a forensic mortuary.

“I’m pleased today because we are giving you a facility which defines us as people who matter. These are the kind of services that freedom fighters like the late Joe Morolong fought for. During the apartheid era, only whites were good enough to utilise facilities like these. Blacks did not benefit from services like these,” Masike said.

The new hospital has a residential area with eight three-bedroom houses, 10 two-bed room houses, 46 bachelor flats, a club house and sporting facilities including a tennis court.

“We are making sure that our facilities have quality residential areas to attract health professionals and retain those that we have. Having them stay within our facilities also make it easy for them to attend to their daily responsibilities and ensure that we achieve our mandate of providing quality health care for our people,” Masike said.

Source: http://www.thenewage.co.za

-TDN

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